NAT. ORDER. — MALVACEAE. 95 



^ succeed iu any kind of rich soil with a hand-glass placed over them, 

 and cuttings of them will strike root freely if planted in rich soil. 

 The green-house species will grow iu the same kind of soil as the 

 stove species, and are jjropagated m the same manner ; most of them 

 are worth cidtivating for ornament, but particularly those belonging 

 to the section Capcnscs. The hai'dy perennial species should be 

 planted in the open border, and they may either be increased by 

 divicUng the plants at the root, or by seed. The annual species only 

 require to be sown in the open ground, but none of them are worth 

 cultivating, unless in general collections, except a few of the most 

 showy kinds. 



Medical Properties and Uses. Mallow is emollient and demul- 

 cent. The infusion and decoction are sometimes employed in catar- 

 rhal, dysenteric, and the nephritic complaints ; and applicable to all 

 other cases which call for the use of mucilaginous liquids. Several 

 varieties are introduced into medical practice, all possessing nearly 

 the same properties — Mcdva RotandifoUa, Dwarf Mallow, Malva Syl- 

 vcslris. Common Mallow, Althcca Officinalis, Marsh Mallow. The 

 last of these abounds with a mucilaginous matter, without smell or 

 taste ; the root contains the greatest proportion of this mucilage, from 

 which alone it is extracted for medicinal purposes. By boiling the 

 sliced roots in water the whole of the mucUaginous parts may be ex- 

 tracted ; this is the chief preparation derived from the root. The 

 herb and flowers, which are the parts directed for use, have a weak, 

 herbaceous, slimy taste, without odor. They abound in mucilage, 

 wliich they readily impart to water, and the solution is precipitated 

 by acetate of lead. The infusion and tincture of the flowers are 

 blue, and serve as a test of acids and alkalies, being reddened by the 

 former, and rendered green by the latter. The roots and seeds are 

 also mucilaginous. 



